Tuesday’s broom march by hundreds of activists, demanding the resignation of chief town planner (CTP) Rajesh Naik, snowballed into bigger protests on Gandhi Jayanti, with agitators gathering at different locations across Goa to raise their voice against rampant land conversion in the State.
Protests were organised by residents and civil society at Old Goa, Chopdem, Fatorda and Chinchinim, where the speakers appealed to the people to remain united against arbitrary changes in land use regulations to protect the identity and lands of Goa.
What has angered the people is indiscriminate hill demolition and massive land conversion by using amendment to Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act.
Old Goa residents staged a dharna and demanded a master plan with demarcation of buffer zone of national and State monuments on Regional Plan 2021 at Old Goa before the decennial exposition of St Francis Xavier starts. They also demanded permanent closure of the road access between the Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral so that it becomes one unit.
The protestors sternly opposed 12 projects approved within the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Some of these projects were four farm houses with 10 bedrooms each, floating jetties and proposed Sagarmala Jetty, illegal bungalows and other constructions, heritage interpretation centre, solid waste management plant, chocolate exhibition centre, IBP laterite resort, land conversions and construction of helipad.
The protestors stated that Old Goa village was already facing increased traffic congestion, noise and air pollution and restricted mobility.
Recently, hundreds of locals participated in a peaceful candlelit march against the Bhutani project in Sancoale on Sunday evening, as they along with activists and political and religious leaders demanded the immediate scrapping of the project.
Prior to that, we have seen Goans coming out in large numbers against coal transportation, railway double tracking, Tamnar power project and many such issues which are detrimental to the State’s welfare.
But the government never tolerates people’s movement because it threatens to weaken its stranglehold over the people. One way in which the establishment maintains its power is by creating a dominant discourse from which dissidents’ views are excluded.
Public demonstrations and marches empower people by showing them that there are thousands of people who think the same things. In an electoral democracy, protest provides an essential voice for people who feel oppressed by the system.
protest is not just about resistance. In the longer term, peaceful protest promotes a sense of solidarity and citizen power through alliances among diverse social groups. Demonstrations inform politicians of voters’ concerns. Protest is an educational process which combats passivity. It is focused on collective action, and on each citizen’s psychological evolution. It is a mechanism for self-liberation from social constraints which limit the legitimate expression of citizenship by women, or by sexual and ethnic minorities.
Public protests are the hallmark of a free, democratic society, whose logic demands that the voice of the people should be heard by those in power and decisions be reached after proper discussion and consultation. In order to participate in public protest, the right to freedom of speech and expression, association and peaceful assembly are necessary.
The Right of citizens to protest and gather peacefully without arms is a fundamental aspect of India’s democracy.
However, when a protest turns violent, as seen in some places in recent protests, it defeats the very purpose of the protest. While enjoying the rights, one must adhere to one’s duties and responsibilities in a democratic society. Also, extreme protest tactics tend to decrease popular support for a given cause because there is reduced feelings of identification with the movement. Also, the establishment stops taking you seriously.
One has to avoid the tag of compulsive protester. Many a times we have seen political leaders in Goa criticising “excessive protests”. It is very difficult to draw a line between balanced protest and excessive protest, but the objective should be clear. The issue has to be big enough that would affect a large section of the society.